Rating: 
Summary: A thinker's action movie
Review: Proof of Life is a good film that has been greatly over-shadowed (or destroyed) by the Hollywood pseudo-moral standards on its co-stars real life romance. And that is unfortunate. The story is good, which has good balance of action and human elements. The acting is excellent. You can trust Russell Crowe in any movies; he will never let you down. And as a happy surprise, after reading so many critics that bashing Meg Ryan, in this movie, Meg Ryan has actually delivered an powerful performance. She comes out as a strong and mature woman who's going through crisis and tries to get out from the bottom of her life in one piece. No trace can be found of the cuteness she usually carries with her in other movies, and there are no showing of melodramatic moments, neither. David Morse has given a solid performance as the husband under hostage that really deserves more recognition he was given. And the supporting actors are also very good. As the director said "this is a thinker's action movie". It throws a lot of questions on you: marriage crisis, in-laws problems (jealous sister in-law), life crisis, unattainable love; how will each character deal with it with the dignity and sense of honor? How will you deal with it if it happens to you? This is a good movie that makes you think.
Rating:
Summary: Good movie, beautiful ending...
Review: There are a lot of things in this movie that are worth noting. However, I could not help but pay most my attention to the two leading actors. Simply put it this way: Russell Crowe excelled. Meg Ryan was beautiful. Crowe's 'last look' scene at the end of the movie was so convincing that almost felt like it was his true feeling. I started to hope that Terry and Alice would end up together. In the movie, they looked very cute together. Meg looked extraordinary beautiful and feminine when she was paired with Russell. I have never seen this side of her in any of her other pictures. You could say that she was pretty, cute, bright and a bit tomboyish but never this feminine. It was apparent that Russell has brought that feminine side out of her. They got good chemistry together. They could form a team as equally attractive as Michelle Pfeiffer and George Clooney in 'one fine day' if and only if they would stay that way *just* for the movies - so we could see more of their performance together. What has happened to them in real life now is really a bad news for us moviegoers.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Movie
Review: It is a must for Russell's and Meg's fans.
For the rest of you if you dont know what is K&R then
you better find out. Great performance by everyone
not just the stars. You will be suprised at the end
of the movie.Enjoy!!!
Thanks to everyone who made this movie possible.
Rating:
Summary: Crowe's finest performance
Review: LOVED this movie! Very action-packed, lots of suspense, plus the added bonus of romantic/sexual tension between Ryan and Crowe. Highly recommend the movie to anyone and especially to any Russell Crowe fan (my favorite performance of his yet, although Gladiator is a very close second!).
Rating: 
Summary: medicore... no surprise
Review: Extremely bland, derivative, slow moving movie. The story is almost as thin as leading lady Meg Ryan. This movie is a waste of your time. It's not terrible but there are dozens of similar movies that are much better. I must admit the actions scenes were really well done. In a lot of action movies the action scenes feature blunders like the 'good guys' surrounding the 'bad guys' and shooting them forgetting the fact that they would shoot each other.
Rating:
Summary: Proof of Life is excellent
Review: This is one of the best movies I ever saw, no matter what the critics say. Russell Crowe is absolutely wonderful. The story is interesting, the scenery is breathtaking, and the suppressed love story is beautifully and subtly expressed with noble virtue winning out in the end, who could ask for more!
Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT
Review: This movie keeps you on the edge of your seat till the very end.
Rating:
Summary: Good acting, great photography but weak lead actress
Review: This is the sort of action flick that has the little extra story to keep it interesting for someone who will not be satisfied with just action, in the same category as, say, "Clear And Present Danger". Terry Thorne (R. Crowe) is a London-based "K&R" (Kidnap & Ransom) consultant sent to a chaotic South American country of your choice to negotiate the release of kidnapped engineer Peter Bowman. Due to the acquisition of Bowman's company by another, there is suddenly noone willing to pay the K&R fees for Thorne and the ransom itself, and so Thorne is whistled back to London, Mission Not Accomplished. But he feels sorry for the despairing wife (M. Ryan) and goes back on his own money soon after. He gets help from old friends (also "K&R consultants"), amongst which actor David Caruso stands out with his cool, straight-talking manner and out-of-control joy when completing the mission, enabling the launch of his own firm in the business. The fact that there is some romantic tension between the wife and the "K&R consultant" is entirely credible (we're talking about a period of more than 100 days of pressure on both, with noone else to run to). Unfortunately, Ryan was inappropriate for this role. Her sunshine face with those childishly blue eyes just never seems really affected by what's going on around. Suspense builds up slowly but effectively towards the last quarter of the movie, and culminates in a nicely choreographed action sequence. Photography and sound in this film are superior, most actors' performance excellent, including of course that of Crowe - although he says "mate" one time too many for my taste (the character he plays is Australian). I also liked the film for another reason. It is mercifully removed from the usual bleeding-heart anti-capitalism of Hollywood and has no sympathy for the kidnappers. And while it's certainly not flattering for the big corporation behind Bowman to leave him in the lurch, the solution does not come from some tax-payer financed intervention (the U.S. embassy is disinterested or incompetent or both.) It is the desire of Crowe's sidekick Caruso to establish himself independently through this coup (=greed!!) and Crowe's own compassion for the victim's family that kick in to the rescue.
Rating: 
Summary: Great action flick, bad love story
Review: I was impressed by the action and suspence in "Proof of Life", but I was depressed by the love story. I don't think they should've made the gal married, and there should be more romance in the mix, and those are the things wrong with the screenplay, and probably why "Proof of life" was a box office disapointment. I liked the movie, but I thought somethings must be ajusted. The bad and unsucessful romance is what took off two stars off my rating. I would recommend this movie to action movie people, but defently not to romance people.
Rating:
Summary: Someone stop letting Meg Ryan make "serious" movies
Review: I rented this alone because it got such terrible reviews that no one would watch it with me. Surprise, it was not too bad. There are definitely some flaws, but I think critics jumped on them, eager to capitalize on the Meg/Russell tryst ... ultimately underrating the movie in favor of Hollywood gossip.Flaws: 1. Meg Ryan. The absolute wrong choice for this movie. She barely gets beyond the romantic-comedy acting staple of crinkly nose and touseled hair. She is undenaibly adorable, but HELLO! she's in the midst of a kidnapping crisis in a third-world country and she's recovering from a miscarriage. Why is she wearing pink lip gloss? And how come, after months in this crisis, she still looks as fresh as Tom Hanks' daisies from "You've Got Mail?" 2. The romance factor. It was over-hyped by the media ... there is barely any romance. That's not to say that Russell doesn't try, using his "i'm emoting my repressed emotions through one smoldering glare" technique. Very effective. However, it is clearly tacked on and not very interesting. More action, less smoldering, please. 3. Character development. We never figure out why these characters (Russell, in particular) do what they do. It seems as though the writers got in to the tequila between rewrites and chucked the characters out the window. 4. Pamela Reed. How could you be so likeable a person and such an annoying part of this movie? I don't blame her. I blame #3. Triumphs: 1. Russell Crowe. Though not as brilliant as his "Insider" or "LA Confidential" turns as a tough but lovable and conflicted man, he brings pure emotion to all that he does. That man can convey in a sidelong glance what Meg Ryan would have to take out a billboard to express. 2. David Morse. One of the most consistent, watchable, likeable, talented actors out there. Check him out as my favorite guy in "Green Mile" and as the husband here. He's awesome. 3. The action. Taut, interesting and well put together. You will want to be a kidnap negotiator. Or at least you'll need a manicure to repair bitten down nails. All in all, a nice diversion and an interesting watch. This movie should have been marketed as an action movie, not a romance. So, if you like action and Russell Crowe, try it out. During the boring parts, play the Meg Ryan drinking game. Every time she attempts to emote, take a drink. By the end of the movie, it will almost be like she's acting!
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